Since the introduction of the Bar Licence on 1st January 2010, only eleven of these licences have been issued in Queensland. Of these, only one is in Fortitude Valley; hardly the small bar revolution envisioned when this new licence category was announced.

The limited number of new bars has not been because of a lack of interest from the public, we have received several enquiries from people interested in opening a bar in Fortitude Valley and other areas, it is due to the classification of a bar as a “Hotel” under town planning schemes.

Until recently if you wanted to open a bar (or hotel) in Fortitude Valley, you were required to make a code or impact assessable town planning application – both long and costly exercises. This made it financially unviable to open a bar with a maximum capacity of 60 persons.

On 1st October 2010 the revised Fortitude Valley Neighbourhood Plan came into effect. Under the new plan the use of premises as a hotel is now self assessable where:

• the use does not involve building work (internal fitout does not constitute building work)
• the buildins is in the Special Entertainment Precinct Core Area
• the premises has 100m² or less in gross floor area (Other uses may occupy an area greater than 100m2, provided the licensed component is 100m² or less. This would apply to fusion bars attached to existing businesses such as shops, hairdressers etc.)
• the premises is not located within the same building as, or within 5m from, a residential dwelling.

This makes the prospect of opening a bar in Fortitude Valley much more attractive and we may now see some more vibrancy in our laneways and small spaces.